Sea Level Change Curve Calculator (2014.88) U.S. Army Engineer Institute for Water Resources User Manual (DRAFT) http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1.1 INFORMATION QUALITY ACT ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.2 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 USACE SCENARIOS – ER 1100-2-8162 ........................................................................................................... 3 1.2.2 NOAA SCENARIOS - OAR CPO-1 .................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.3 NRC 2012 VALUES (WEST COAST ONLY) ........................................................................................................ 5 1.2.4 NPCC 2013/2015 VALUES (NEW YORK CITY ONLY) ....................................................................................... 5 1.3 SAMPLE CALCULATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 5 2. OPERATION OF SEA LEVEL CALCULATOR TOOL ......................................................................... 6 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 USER CONTROLS ................................................................................................................................................. 6 OUTPUT TABLE ................................................................................................................................................. 12 GRAPH OF PROJECTED RELATIVE SEA LEVEL CHANGE CURVES ....................................................................... 13 CURVE INTERSECTIONS TABLE .......................................................................................................................... 14 GRAPH AND TABLE OF GAUGE DATUMS, EWLS, CRITICAL ELEVATIONS, AND BFE ......................................... 15 GRAPH AND TABLE OF THE RELATIVE SEA LEVEL CHANGE BETWEEN DATES .................................................. 16 NOAA PLOTS .................................................................................................................................................... 17 APPENDIX A: REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 18 APPENDIX B: LIST OF 2014.88 ENHANCEMENTS .................................................................................... 19 http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 1. Introduction This manual is designed to guide the user through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Sea Level Change Curve Calculator, providing step-by-step instructions for using the online tool. 1.1 Background USACE updated its guidance on considerations for sea level change (SLC) in Civil Works programs and projects to ensure sustainable performance in the future and combine the postKatrina recommendations around land subsidence, tidal fluctuations, and sea level change,. Beginning in 2009, USACE policy and guidance required that all coastal projects be evaluated with respect to changes in sea level throughout the project life-cycle. The need to incorporate projected changes to Local Mean Sea Level (LMSL) into the design of USACE Civil Works projects required the development of a simple, web-based tool to provide repeatable analytical results. This Sea Level Change Curve Calculator was developed under the Comprehensive Evaluation of Projects with Respect to Sea Level Change (CESL) component of the Responses to Climate Change Program. The calculator is also used in the CESL screeninglevel vulnerability assessments for USACE coastal projects. The USACE Sea Level Change Curve Calculator uses the methodology described in Engineer Regulation 1100-2-8162, “Incorporating Sea Level Changes in Civil Works Programs.” The tool also provides comparisons to scenarios in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 2012 Technical Report OAR CPO-1, “Global Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States National Climate Assessment,” and the National Research Council’s (NRC) 2012 report, “Sea Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future”, and New York City Panel On Climate Change’s “Climate Risk Information 2013, DRAFT Climate Methods Memorandum”, December 17, 2013 1.1.1 Information Quality Act This section describes the testing and validation of the computational accuracy consistent with the Information Quality act as described in the memorandum, “Ensuring Quality of Information Disseminated to the Public by the Department of Defense”. 1.1.1.1 Utility The calculator is designed to help with the application of the guidance found in ER 1100-2-8162 and Engineer Technical Letter (ETL) 1100-2-1, “Procedures to Evaluate Sea Level Change: Impacts, Responses, and Adaptation.” http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 1.1.1.2 Objectivity The calculator conforms to the guidance found in ER 1100-2-8162. Other than using the equations in the regulation to produce tables and graphs, this tool makes no predictions or draws any conclusions. It is recommended that the user become familiar with the guidance prior to using the calculator’s output for any influential decisions. 1.1.1.3 Quality The computations for future sea levels based on ER 1100-2-8162 have been independently checked by personnel at the New Orleans, Galveston, and Honolulu District offices. The extreme water levels are based on statistical probabilities using recorded historic monthly extreme water level values. NOAA’s Technical Report, "Extreme Water Levels of the United States 18932010" describes the methods and data used in the calculation of the exceedance probability levels using a generalized extreme value (GEV) statistical function. The USACE method uses the same NOAA recorded monthly extreme values in a percentile statistical function. Both methods use data recorded and validated by NOAA at the tide gauges. The extreme values at the gauge can be significantly different than what may occur at the project site. 1.1.1.5 NOAA CO-OPS Data Quality Much of the calculator relies on data supplied by the NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), such as tide data, datums, some projected extreme water level events, etc. CO-OPS has an extensive QA/QC program for the collection of water levels outlined in their report “CO-OPS Evaluation Criteria for Water Level Station Documentation.” 1.2 Overview The online Sea Level Change Curve Calculator consists of a web-based tool that accepts user input such as project start date, selection of an appropriate NOAA long term tide gauge, and project life span, to produce a table and graph of the projected sea level changes for the respective project. The calculator was developed to calculate the UASCE sea level change scenarios, but can also be used to develop other scenarios for comparison purposes. These include scenarios developed by NOAA (2012), the National Research Council (NRC, 2011), and the New York City Panel on 1.2.1 USACE Scenarios – ER 1100-2-8162 As shown below, using a eustatic sea level change rate of 1.7 mm/year and the start date of 1992, the updated values for the variable b in the 1987 NRC report are equal to 2.71E-5 for modified NRC Curve I (USACE Intermediate Rate Scenario), and 1.13E-4 for modified NRC Curve III (USACE High Rate Scenario). The year 1992 is used to start these curves because 1992 is the mid-year of the NOAA National Tidal Datum Epoch (NTDE) of 1983–2001. The current tidal datums and their relationship to NAVD88 are referenced to this point in time. The “USACE Low Rate Scenario” extrapolates the historic rate of sea level change. http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual Variable b Eustatic Sea Level Start Date Change Rate 1.7mm/year *1992 NRC Curve I NRC Curve III Used for the USACE Intermediate Rate Curve Used for the USACE High Rate Curve 2.71E-5 1.13E-4 *The mid-year of the current National Tidal Datum Epoch (NTDE) of 1983-2001. 1.2.2 NOAA Scenarios - OAR CPO-1 As shown below, NOAA’s scenarios also begin at 1992 but produce 4 curves based on a rise of 2.0, 1.2, 0.5, and 0.2 meters by 2100. To fit the curves to the scenarios defined above, the constant b has a value of 1.56E-04 (Highest Scenario), 8.71E-05 (Intermediate-High Scenario), and 2.71E-05 (Intermediate-Low Scenario). The NOAA Intermediate Low Scenario is the same as the USACE Intermediate Scenario. NOAA also extrapolates the historic tide gauge rate for the Low Rate Scenario. Start Date 1992 Constant b Highest Scenario Intermediate-High Scenario Intermediate-Low Scenario 1.56E-04 8.71E-05 2.71E-05 http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 1.2.3 NRC 2012 Values (West Coast Only) The National Research Council’s 2012 report breaks the west coast into 4 regions associated with the gauges at Seattle, WA, Newport, OR, San Francisco, CA, and Los Angeles, CA. The calculator will find the closest of these four gauges to the user’s selected gauge and provide the NRC2012 values in the table and on the chart. The NRC2012 values are relative to the year 2000. The calculator extrapolates the historic rate of SLC at the user’s selected gauge from 1992 (the mid-point of the current National Tidal Datum Epoch) to 2000 in order to relate the report’s projected values to LMSL and NAVD88. 1.2.4 NPCC 2013/2015 Values (New York City Only) The New York City Panel on Climate Change 2013 report and the New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 report compute projected sea level for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island Boroughs of New York. 10th percentile, 25th percentile, 75th percentile, and 90th percentiles are tabulated and shown on the curves graph. The 2020s (2050s, 2080s) is a ten year average of the projections from 2020-2029 (2050-2059, 2080-2089). 1.3 Sample calculations Global mean SLC for any of the accelerating scenarios can be calculated using Equation 2 in USACE ER 1100-2-8162. For example, the projected USACE High Rate SLR for 2060 can be computed by: E(t) = 0.0017t + bt2 Where: t = 2060 – 1992 = 68 generally accepted eustatic sea level rise rate = 1.7 mm/yr or 0.0017 m/yr b = 0.0001130 from ER 1100-2-8162 (high rate) E = the change in global mean sea level between 1992 and 2060 (for this example) using the high rate scenario E = (0.0017*68) + (0.0001130*682) E = (0.1156) + (0.0001130*4624) E = 0.638112 meters in this example. ER1100-2-8162, Equation 2 does not contain the local Vertical Land Movement (VLM). The rate used to develop the local relative SLC is a combination of the widely accepted eustatic rate of 1.7 mm/yr plus the VLM (“M”). The “0.0017” in Equation 2 would be substituted with the appropriate rate of relative SLC for the gauge selected. To account for local VLM, we substitute 0.017 with either the published or regionally corrected rates, both of which are provided by NOAA CO-OPS. The published rates are available from the CO-OPS Sea Level Trends website at: tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends.html. The regionally corrected rates can be developed with the information contained in the referenced NOAA Technical Report NOS COOPS 065. http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual Modifying Equation 2 to substitute either the published or the regionally corrected rate as “M” we get: E(t) = Mt + bt2 Where t = 2060 – 1992 = 68 M = the generally accepted eustatic sea level rise rate 1.7 mm/yr plus the VLM of -1.23 mm/yr at the Montauk gauge in New York (from NOS CO-OPS 065 Table 1) = 2.93 mm/yr b = 0.0001130 from ER 212 (high rate) E = (0.00293*68) + (0.0001130*682) E = (0.19924) + (0.0001130*4624) E = 0.721752 meters in this example. The calculator also produces a chart and table showing the projected change between the project start and end. The is done by manipulating equation (2) to account for the fact that it was developed for eustatic sea level rise starting in 1992, while projects will actually be constructed at some date after 1992, resulting in equation (3): E(t2) – E(t1) = 0.0017(t2 – t1) + b(t22 – t12) Where t1 = the time between the project’s construction date and 1992 *t2 = the time between a future date at which one wants an estimate for sea level change and 1992 *Or t2 = t1 + number of years after construction This shows only the changes in sea level, and does not reference a particular datum, which is why it does not plot any user entered BFE or critical elevations. 2. Operation of Sea Level Calculator Tool 2.1 User Controls http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual The tool applies the user selected controls into the appropriate equation depending on selected output to produce a graph and table of the projected SLC curves. A B C Figure 1: USACE Sea Level Change Curve Calculator User Controls A. Project Name: The user can enter a project name to be displayed on top of the curves chart and table. B. Gauge Selection: There are two ways that a user can select the appropriate NOAA gauge: (1) Clicking on the project area on the map (Figure 2-2) in the location of the project, or (2) Selecting a gauge from the drop-down menu (right). If the user chooses option (1), the calculator will choose the gauge closes to the area clicked on the map. Selecting a gauge via the drop-down menu in option (2) will cause the calculator to zoom the Google Map insert to the selected gauge. There may be additional factors other than proximity to consider when selecting a gauge. http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual C. FEMA Base Flood Elevation: If desired, the user may enter a FEMA Base Flood Elevation. If the selected gauge is not connected to NAVD88, the BFE will have to be converted to LMSL before being entered. Select BFE in the “Plot EWL and/or BFE” pull-down to plot the BFE on top of the selected SLC curve. Links are provided to more information and locating the area’s BFE. D E F H G Figure 1-2: USACE Sea Level Change Curve Calculator User Controls cont’d D. Project Start Year Enter the project’s starting year. This will determine what the curves and tables will use as a starting point. Note: Relative sea level change will always begin its computations in 1992; however, the project start year will determine when to start displaying the values. E. Year Interval Enter the interval of years desired for the output tables. Any value entered other than five will compute all years relative to the starting year. If the value is 5, all years will be computed as even intervals of 5 (i.e. 2005, 2010, 2015, etc). F. Project End Year: Enter the project’s ending year (1992-2150). Note: Use caution when projecting out beyond 2120. G. Output Units: The user may optionally change the unit of measure. Note: The default unit of measure is feet. H. Output Datum: The output datum may also be selected by clicking on the desired checkbox. Local Mean Sea Level (LMSL) or the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) are available. Note: NAVD88 is not available for all gauges. http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator I J K User Manual L M N Figure 1-3: USACE Sea Level Change Curve Calculator User Controls cont’d I. Output Agency: USACE and NOAA projections are available at any tide gauge location, and any combination may be selected by clicking on the desired checkboxes. Note: For the gauges in California, Oregon, and Washington, you may also elect to show the NRC2012 projections. For “The Battery” in New York, you may also elect to show the NPCC2013/2015 projections. J. SLC Rate: Select either the (1) NOAA published rate of Sea Level Change, which are published on the CO-OPS website, or (2) the regionally corrected rates from NOAA Technical Report NOS CO-OPS 065. The user may optionally enter in an alternate rate and click on the [Display Data] button. Note: Per NOAA, long term sea level trends observed in tide station records include a component due to oceanographic variables and a component due to local Vertical Land Motion (VLM). The oceanographic component includes the global (eustatic) sea level trend, plus tide station location specific sea level variations acting on different scales (local to regional) and at different frequencies (storm surge to seasonal to decadal scale). In the past, local VLM has been estimated simply by subtracting the global sea level trend from the local mean sea level trend developed from local tide station records. NOAA Technical Report NOS CO-OPS 065, Estimating Vertical Land Motion from Long-Term Tide Gauge Records, dated May 2013 provides improved estimates of local VLM through a process which references regional long-term tide stations and removes regional oceanographic variability. These regionally corrected VLM estimates added to the global sea level trend provide more technically accurate local mean sea level trends. K. EWL Type: Select the desired type of Extreme Water Levels to display. Note: Low water extremes are not available using the USACE Percentile method. L. EWL Source: Select the desired source of the EWLs, the USACE produced Percentile or NOAA produced Generalized Extreme Value (GEV). M. Chart Size: The chart height and width may be changed by adding the desired values in the text boxes. Note: The [Display Data] button must be clicked to re-plot the charts. http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual N. Plot EWL, BFE, or Tides: from the pull-down, select the desired return period, base flood elevation, or tides along with the curve upon which to display them. P O Q Figure 1-4: USACE Sea Level Change Curve Calculator User Controls cont’d O. Critical Elevations: The user may also include 2 critical elevations to plot on the SLC curve and gauge datums graphs. ETL 1100-2-1 describes a critical elevation or threshold as, “… intended to identify a water surface elevation at which a structural condition changes or system performance changes. For example, a structure can either fail or be overtopped at a certain water elevation, and a drainage system might start to back up at a certain water elevation. A tipping point refers to a critical point, after the threshold, when stability and/or performance begin to rapidly decline and impacts increase dramatically. Determining tipping points that would generate a necessary action in the future is an essential element of alternative development with respect to SLC.” The user-entered thresholds may also be described by entering a description in the text boxes provided. These descriptions will appear on the chart legends. The range of tipping points produced between the low and high SLC curves defines the future time uncertainty of performance changes referenced to the critical elevation. Keep in mind the various water surfaces when determining the critical elevation. As MSL approaches the critical elevation, high tide must be considered. If in this scenario, MHHW or high tide is 2 feet higher than MSL, the first floor will be inundated with every high tide when MSL gets to 3.1’. The calculator provides the years at which MLLW, LMSL, and MHHW all reach the critical elevation(s). The user can also select an Extreme Water Level such as a 100 yr event to be included in the tabulation of intersections of water levels and critical elevations. P. Download CSV: click on the of the selected table. button to create and download a .csv file http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual *note – CSV download is only available when using the Firefox browser. Q. User Entered Index: The user may optionally enter in a value to be added to the calculated curves. This may be used for Flood Risk Reduction Standards as described in ECB 2013-33, overbuild, etc. Caution… this does not perform any computations based on water depth; it simply adds the entered value as a constant to the water surface calculated for the selected scenarios. A description of the index value can also be entered. 2.2 Gauge Map Along with the output curve table and graph, an interactive Google map is produced showing the location of the user selected gauge. The user can zoom in, zoom out, and pan the map. The example below shows the location of the San Diego gauge, as represented by the blue push pin. Figure 2-2: Gauge Map http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 2.3 Output Table The projected water level heights relative to either LMSL or NAVD88 are tabulated for each of the requested scenarios at a 5 year interval. The tabulated heights will be displayed in the selected unit of measure, either feet or meters and relative to the selected output datum. In the example shown below, the USACE, NOAA, and NRC scenarios were selected for the Santa Monica tide gauge. Figure 2-3: Example Output Table http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 2.4 Graph of Projected Relative Sea Level Change Curves An interactive Google graph is produced along with the output table. The graph displays the relative sea level change curves according to the user supplied inputs and options. The user can hover over a node of the curve to display the value at that point. Zooming is also possible using the button’s scroll wheel. In the example shown below, the USACE, NOAA, and NRC scenarios were selected for the Santa Monica tide gauge. Two different elevation thresholds were input, labeled Emergency Generators and Levee Crown. A BFE was also selected. Finally, an extreme water level (100-yr recurrence interval calculated by NOAA using the GEV) is plotted on the USACE high curve. Figure 2-4: Projected Relative Sea Level Change Curves http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 2.5 Curve Intersections Table The year at which the selected curve (item M) intersects the user entered critical elevations and/or base flood elevation is produced. The curves from the selected agency and the critical elevations and BFE are shown by default. The user can select an EWL to be included in the tabulation as described in K, L, and N above. In the example shown below, intersections are shown for two different elevation thresholds input, labeled Levee Crown and 1st Floor. Figure 2-5: Intersections Table http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 2.6 Graph and Table of Gauge Datums, EWLs, Critical Elevations, and BFE The established datums and the user selected *EWLs, along with any user entered critical elevations and/or a BFE, are tabulated and graphed as show in Figure 2-5 below. The graph shows the relationship between the various datums and elevations. *Note that the EWLs have the historic rate of the selected gauge applied to account for SLC from 1992 to the project start year. Figure 2-6: Gauge Datums, EWLs, Critical Elevations, and BFE http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 2.7 Graph and Table of the Relative Sea Level Change Between Dates The table and graph shown in Figure 2-6 below shows the relative differences in the water level between the user entered project start and end dates for the USACE and NOAA scenarios. Both the graph and table start at zero in the project start year. Note: Associating this with a particular datum is not possible unless an assumed rate/curve is used to transfer the datums developed for the current NTDE to the project start year. This calculator does not make that determination; therefore, no critical elevations or BFE will be shown on the graph. The Sea Level Change Curve Calculator simply shows the change in height during the project’s life. Figure 2-7: Relative Sea Level Change Between Dates http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual 2.8 NOAA Plots At the bottom of the page of the tool are NOAA plots of extreme water levels. These plots use the GEV function and display the period of record water levels. Clicking on either plot brings up the NOAA CO-OPS webpage for the selected gauge. Figure 2-8: NOAA Plots http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual Appendix A: References National Research Council, “Sea Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future”, 2012 http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13389 NOAA Technical Report NOS CO-OPS 065, Estimating Vertical Land Motion from Long-Term Tide Gauge Records. http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/publications/Technical_Report_NOS_COOPS_065.pdf NOAA Technical Report OAR CPO-1, “Global Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States National Climate Assessment”, December 6, 2012 http://www.cpo.noaa.gov/sites/cpo/Reports/2012/NOAA_SLR_r3.pdf USACE ER 1100-2-8162 Incorporating Sea level Changes in Civil Works Programs, 31 December 2013. http://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/EngineerRegulations/ER_11002-8162.pdf New York City Panel On Climate Change’s “Climate Risk Information 2013, DRAFT Climate Methods Memorandum”, December 17, 2013 http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/downloads/pdf/NPCC2_Climate%20Methods%20Memora ndum_2013.pdf New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report, January, 2015 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.12593/pdf ETL 1110-2-1, “Procedures To Evaluate Sea Level Change: Impacts, Responses, And Adaptation”, 30 June 2014. http://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/EngineerTechnicalLetters/ETL_ 1100-2-1.pdf Memorandum, “Ensuring Quality of Information Disseminated to the Public by the Department of Defense”. http://www.usace.army.mil/Portals/2/docs/authorization_form.pdf CO-OPS Evaluation Criteria for Water Level Station Documentation, 25 October 2013 http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/publications/COOPS_Evaluation_Criteria_for_Water_Level_Station_Documentation_updated_October_2013.pd f http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm Sea Level Change Calculator User Manual Appendix B: List of 2014.88 Enhancements 2014.88 major enhancements and modifications to the superseded calculator at http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves(superseded).cfm include: Ability to click on gauge map to select project gauge Table and graph of gauge datums and Extreme Water Levels Option for output datum (LMSL or NAVD88) Option to output values from NRC 2012 for locations on the west coast Option to output values from NPCC 2013/2015 for New York City (The Battery) Option for published or regionally corrected SLC rates Option to include Extreme Water Levels Option for EWL source (USACE Percentile or NOAA GEV) Graph and table of curves using ER 1100-2-8162 equation 3 Optional critical elevations Displayed CO-OPS EWL and Period of Record images for selected gauge Use of JSON formatted data. Will allow for future transition to real-time data Development of Intersection Table of water levels to critical elevations Option for user to enter an index to add to projected water surfaces CSV output option for Firefox browser Print option for tables and graphs http://www.corpsclimate.us/ccaceslcurves.cfm
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